There are certain inevitabilities in life such as death, taxes and Erling Haaland terrorising West Ham when they play Manchester City.
The Julen Lopetegui era at West Ham faced its first major test when Man City came to the London Stadium.
And while there was plenty of encouragement in stages – and some gilt-edged opportunities missed – there was something of a reality check for the Hammers.
West Ham fans were left bemused once again to see Michail Antonio in the starting line-up as Niclas Fullkrug was left on the bench.
And Antonio did little to suggest supporters were wrong as he toiled against Man City.
West Ham started well and could have been ahead in the opening exchanges.
The Hammers have ridden their luck in games against Villa, Palace and Bournemouth thus far.
But Manchester City offer you no such luxuries.
Paqueta fast becoming an expensive luxury for West Ham
Failure to be ruthless against Pep Guardiola’s champions is usually punished. And so it was when Erling Haaland – who else – opened the scoring.
But it doesn’t help when luxury players such as Lucas Paqueta are laying it on a plate for the opposition.
On his day Paqueta is a fantastic player. But those days are too few and far between.
The £150k per week Brazilian has been playing for himself since the middle of last season now.
And nothing has changed this season. The difference is now Paqueta is playing in the middle of the pitch, his selfish overindulgence on the ball can be costly.
So it proved as his lackadaisical dawdling on the ball twice in succession let Man City in for one of the easiest goals Haaland will score all season.
Antonio offered nothing up front to trouble Man City, choosing to look to try and pin Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji every time West Ham went forward instead of looking for space or spinning in behind.
As a result Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus took it upon themselves to try and spark West Ham into life.
Kudus dropped deep and instigated the move which saw Bowen drive at the City defence, his cross diverted into his own net by Dias on 19 minutes.
More passive defending 10 minutes later allowed Manchester City to pass the ball around the box like a training game.
West Ham duo beg to be dropped after unacceptable displays
Somehow Haaland was afforded time to take a touch, settle himself and size up the goal before blasting Man City back in front.
Paqueta continued to give the ball away in dangerous areas and almost cost West Ham another goal as he played a careless pass across his own box.
The Hammers wasted a host of chances to level and Paqueta chose the wrong option time and again in attack too, giving the ball away instead of finding a teammate well placed to get a shot a goal.
But City punished West Ham with 10 minutes to as Haaland took advantage of some awful marking to go through and dink over Lukasz Fabianski.
West Ham enjoyed some encouraging spells as Kudus smashed the bar and Crysencio Summerville saw a shot tipped onto the post either side of Man City’s third.
Fullkrug and Summerville came on too late and how Paqueta stayed on the pitch was beyond the 60,000 West Ham fans in the stadium.
If Man City still have designs on signing him if he is cleared of the allegations against him, they may think again after this performance.
Antonio is a busted flush as a starting Premier League striker.
At 34 that’s to be expected. A great servant who should be nothing more than an impact sub.
Lopetegui must address the glaring Antonio and Paqueta issues over the international break if he wants to implement a new style and get results at West Ham.
It really is as simple as that.
Kudus and now Carlos Soler will be breathing down Paqueta’s neck very soon. And it is becoming increasingly clear why Lopetegui has pushed to sign his fellow Spaniard on this evidence.
West Ham player ratings vs Man City
Alphonse Areola – 7/10 (Lukasz Fabianski 6.5/10): Areola pulled off an excellent save from Kevin de Bruyne’s stinging drive to keep West Ham in the game. But was substituted at half-time presumably due to an injury sustained in that save. Fabianski did the basics right as always but could perhaps have made himself bigger for Haaland’s hat-trick goal.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 8/10: After a difficult start due to Guardiola’s clever tactical switch, Wan-Bissaka was one of the best players on the pitch. Again. And who said he can’t go forward? A fantastic signing who will be key to eventually transforming this West Ham side. Switched to left-back and was just as good.
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 6.5/10: A mixed game from the big Greek. Mavropanos has started the season really well but he was found out at times against Man City, especially on the third goal.
Max Kilman – 6.5/10: Kilman has been brilliant so far and played well overall but he and Mavropanos were too passive for all three goals.
Emerson Palmieri – 6.5/10 (Vladimir Coufal 6.5/10): Didn’t do a lot wrong and stuck to his task but was a touch disappointing going the other way. Emerson is another struggling to find his best form since the middle of last season. But he is the least of Lopetegui’s worries. Coufal was solid enough when he came on and got a few good crosses in.
Guido Rodriguez – 7/10: Argentine has been fantastic and was good again in difficult circumstances with Paqueta continually surrendering possession in dangerous areas. Will be a big fan favourite at West Ham and one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Edson Alvarez – 6.5/10 (Tomas Soucek 6/10): Alvarez is making his way back and did ok overall. He looked disappointed to come off again but long-term Lopetegui clearly plans on having him and Rodriguez as the central midfield shield. Soucek couldn’t sort his feet out in the box when a chance fell to him but wasn’t on long enough to make a significant impact.
Lucas Paqueta – 3/10: Abysmal, selfish, overindulgent. Paqueta is fast becoming a big problem for Lopetegui. West Ham fans were furious with his display inside the London Stadium. He must sharpen up if he wants to keep his place. Kudus is crying out to be played more centrally in his place. West Ham would be a better team for it.
Jarrod Bowen – 8/10 (Crysencio Summerville 7/10): Brilliant again and did so much work for the team. He and Kudus always had Man City fearful and Bowen made West Ham’s goal. Paqueta would likely have come off rather than Bowen had the score remained at 2-1. But with the game gone, Bowen was taken off to save him for another day. Summerville really impressed in his brief cameo. Looked sharp and caused City problems. Should have come on sooner, almost scored and deserved a goal.
Mohammed Kudus – 8/10: A constant menace who would have been a justified hero had he not hit the bar. Brilliant performance and – like Bowen – would not have looked out of place had he been playing for Man City.
Michail Antonio – 3/10 (Niclas Fullkrug – 6/10): Besides Paqueta, Antonio was the big problem for West Ham against City. It is not his fault he continues to be selected. West Ham may regret not paying the extra for Jhon Duran as Antonio is looking well past his best at Premier League level. Fullkrug is not an impact substitute and looks rusty. He needs to be starting games if the Hammers are to get any sort of tune out of him. Post international break it is time for change up front.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
